What is your vision for a future in which our national political leaders collaborate, in spite of their differences, and do the work their people want and need them to do? Can you even imagine it?

For former Senator Bill Bradley, a Democrat who represented the people of New Jersey for 18 years, there are a few variations of such a future.

Senator Bradley joined us this week for the latest installment of our Policy Breakfast series. On a snowy, messy New York morning, Bradley addressed a full room at the Graduate Center at the City University of New York, our partner in the series.

Adam Davidson, of NPR's Planet Money and The New York Times Magazine, spoke with the former Senator about the past, present and future of American politics.

On the past: "It was a time when there were personal relationships among members of Congress... People lived in Washington and socialized with each other. It made a big difference."

On the present: "There are real opportunity costs to paralysis."

On the future: "You could easily see this agenda done and you could see the country saying, well, we moved forward."

In our newest report, we tell a story about how enlightened college leadership and a deeply engaged faculty has transformed a college to better serve its students. It is the story of Austin Peay State University (APSU) in Tennessee.

We've spoken to administration, faculty and staff at colleges in nearly half the states in the U.S. Rarely have we heard the dedication, optimism and commitment that we encountered in our research at APSU. Our experience has made it clear that a positive climate, where everyone collaborates on decisions and navigates change together, does not have to be an anomaly.

"It takes the commitment of everyone -- faculty, staff, leadership -- to get results, and that's what I think is most important," said APSU's President Timothy Hall in The Tennessean.

Public Agenda's work at APSU started as a study of the adoption of Degree Compass, a technological innovation which recommends courses to students based on a number of factors, similar to how Netflix recommends movies or Amazon recommends products you may like. As we spoke to senior administrators, faculty, advisers and students, however, it became clear why that innovation was so successful - enlightened leadership practices and deep faculty engagement.

Focus group discussions revealed a climate where innovation on behalf of student success is embraced and supported - even in cases where it challenges people to think and act differently, often outside of their comfort zones.

"There is always encouragement to try new things, to be better, to not stand still. If we're doing the same thing, we're not moving forward, but there's no penalty for failure. You can have a big old flop," said one focus group participant.

Supporting innovation is just one of six other key practices that emerged from our conversations at Austin Peay State University, including:

While experts often speak of principles of leadership, in this case study we focus on on-the-ground practices and illustrate them with the stories of those who have experienced such transformative leadership first hand.

Public Agendais a nonprofit organization that helps diverse leaders and citizens navigate divisive, complex issues. Through nonpartisan research and engagement, it provides people with the insights and support they need to arrive at workable solutions on critical issues, regardless of their differences. Since 1975, Public Agenda has helped foster progress on K-12 and higher education reform, health care, federal and local budgets, energy and immigration. Find Public Agenda online at PublicAgenda.org.

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